Guilt is associated with shame, and shame leads to low self-esteem. By learning to forgive yourself, you can overcome the guilt and shame. It’s easy to look down on yourself, and these negative thoughts are often driven by feelings of guilt. When you start having feelings of guilt, you may not even know why you’re feeling guilty. In other cases, you may know why you’re feeling guilty but don’t know how to manage those feelings. One tragic event, a mistake by a mother, changes the lives of so many people. Thea can't remember a lot of what happened that fateful day but is told a story that breaks her. Without saying too much something happens to her child that you would never wish on anybody. Thea is told that she is to blame, but she can't believe that she would do it. As the trial looms she slowly starts to regain her memory and realises that somebody close to her has done this to her - but why and how? All the characters have secrets that they want to stay hidden.

I did just want one more chapter from a specific character to finalise everything, but I’m a-okay because the epilogue made up for that. But then Thea’s world fell apart…when she left her infant son, Zander in a sweltering hot car, after a boozy meal out with her best friend. How could Thea do such a horrific thing?

ACCOMPLICES Principle

An accomplice should normally make a witness statement before giving evidence. It should not be signed until a guilty plea has been entered if he or she is also being prosecuted. However, a draft may be prepared beforehand. You might owe yourself an apology, too. Instead of clinging to guilt and punishing yourself after an honest mistake, remember: No one does everything right all the time. Do something new or try something you have never tried before. Focusing your mind on a new skill can help you think about something other than your feelings of guilt. Create goals and work toward achieving them. Refocus your thoughts on something positive. Instead of dwelling on what is making you feel guilty, focus on achieving your goals. I will say that I am willing to give this another go if I feel like it at some stage just because I'm left feeling like I must have missed something because everyone is loving this book. And now that I'm aware of the speed of the story, that will make a difference second time round I think.

Overcoming negative thoughts and emotions takes a lot of willpower and support. Without the support of people you trust, it can be hard to cope with feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, and other negative emotions. So if you find that you are struggling to cope with feelings of guilt, talk to someone. It can be a close friend, relative, or a professional.It may seem weird if you look at such a person without any psychological understanding of their situation. But if you understand how these tendencies develop, its clear that its very easy for them to blame themselves for something that they are clearly not responsible for. It wasn't all bad which is why I'm giving it two stars which means it was OK. There were parts that I liked. Just small scenes here and there and the writing was quite good. It flowed well. False responsibility leads to false guilt, and false guilt leads to self-blame. Over time, you internalize it. This makes you more susceptible to being manipulated and taken advantage of, where you sacrifice your own well-being and self-interest to please and take care of others. In other words, self-erasure.